Pierce My Hate (With Your Arrows)
by pinkwolf1620
Summary: Cooper Sheldon is back. Under Oliver's protection, Felicity starts acting strange and forgetting things about her life and the team (even her feelings for Oliver!) but that's not the only thing that scares him. The colorful and cheerful Felicity is soon replaced with dark clothing, dark makeup and a dark attitude. Can Oliver pierce the darkness and bring her to the light?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just setting the scene here. This story will be set around the Season 3 episode 5 mark, most likely a few months after that episode. That means Oliver and Felicity aren't together – yet hehehe – and there is no Ray in this story – sorry to those who liked Ray, I liked him too but in order for this story to work he can't be here.**

 **I hope you all like this story. I have the first few chapters planned out but from there this will be a fly at your own risk kind of story.**

 **For those who are wondering about my other story 'Arrow and The Swan' I will return to that story eventually; it's just on the backburner for now. Personal things in my life have made me lose my spark for that story and forcing me to come up with something new is how I deal/escape from what's going on in my life.**

* * *

Oliver was nervous but he would never let any of the others know that. His concentration was trying to focus on their target, a mysterious hacker who was stealing passwords, accounts and items all over the city who they only just found now – and Felicity who was in the field again.

Oliver and fought for her not to be in the field again but Felicity's logic and Roy with Diggle's arguments, he lost and Felicity smiled as she had gone to get ready for the mission.  
They couldn't pass up this opportunity, Felicity had argued, they finally HAD this guy pinned down – tonight he was at a gala and was planning to scan everyone's IDs as they went in at the door and from there he could steal them all blind. Felicity was eager to get out there and prove herself again and had acquired a fake invitation and a fake ID so that when he scanned her it would be like hitting a coded brick wall.

Felicity was now inside feeling proud that her fake papers had worked and was sipping champagne and mingling with other guests while waiting for Oliver's signal. Felicity was to excuse herself to the bathroom and find their hackers master computer, copy everything on his computer and get out in 10 minutes; Felicity was confident that she could do it in under 5.

"Okay Felicity, don't be over confident here. It's time, our guy is preoccupied with guests. Just get in, do your thing and get out" Oliver said into her ear piece

Felicity couldn't stop her mouth as she started talking "is that what it's like to be with you?" she mentally slapped herself as she heard Diggle and Roy giggle over the coms "sorry, moving in now"

Oliver rolled his eyes in defeat as he watched Felicity from his perch outside. She was so cute when she wasn't paying attention to her words. He heard Felicity excuse herself, ask where the bathroom was and make her way down a hall. In a few minutes she was in and Oliver was already counting down the minutes in case he needed to jump in and help her. Diggle told him not to worry, that this was an easy job and that Felicity could handle herself. Still, Oliver could feel himself sweating with nerves.

Felicity's fingers flew across the keyboard as she searched through the hackers files until she found what she was looking for "I found them!" she fist pumped the air when she found the files of everyone he had stolen from and began copying them to her thumb drive. This was taking longer than expected when Oliver warned her of the nine minute mark "I don't know why this is taking so long! There are a lot of files okay?" Felicity answered him "I'm going as fast as I can"

Felicity was so caught up in her work that she didn't notice the figure in black enter the office and slowly sneak up behind her "just a few more seconds!" Felicity squinted her eyes at the screen until the files were all copied and downloaded, she unplugged the thumb drive and spun in her chair; and was met with a familiar face.  
Felicity was frozen to the chair as the young man leaned in close to her after examining her head to toe "you look so beautiful, babe"

Felicity could hear Oliver in her ear "Felicity, where are you?" he was getting scared now

"Of course, blonde hair wasn't my favourite" the man leaned in closer until they were mere inches away, Felicity let out a small whimper that alerted Oliver that she was in danger yet she didn't have a chance to do much more than that when her attackers lips smashed down onto hers in a searing kiss.

"FELICITY!" Oliver screamed in her ear as he heard her struggling "Digg! Roy! She's in trouble! Get to her now!" his voice made it clear that there was no room for argument as they all sprung into action. Oliver could hear Felicity trying to fight someone off but her attacker was skilled.

Felicity tried to get away but he pinned her to a wall "babe! Is that any way to treat me? After everything we've been through?"

"Go to hell!" Felicity spat in his face "The Arrow will be here any minute and he'll kick your arse!"

The man rached into his pocket and pulled out a small spray can "your love for that man…you used to love me like that…and you will again" he sprayed the contents of the can in Felicity face and watched with a smile on his face when she started to cough and splutter "see you soon babe" he gave her a quick peck as he left the room and vanished.

Felicity collapsed to the floor with only Oliver's name on her lips as she slipped into unconsciousness. 

* * *

Cooper took a glass of champagne as he existed his boss's office and took a sip. They had been working on this plan for months and with Felicity's help things would go a lot smoother.

"Cooper, well done" his boss was speaking into his comm with pride "did you get the girl?"

"Yes sir, now we wait a few days for her to come to us all confused and helpless, then it'll be a piece of cake!"

"Perfect. Report back to me in a few days with an update" 

* * *

"Felicity, can you hear me?" Oliver was kneeling over her and gently caressing her face "Felicity open your eyes for me"

Felicity wanted to open her eyes but sound was the first thing that escaped her "Coo…Cooper…?"

"What? Cooper isn't here, it's Oliver" Oliver lightly tapped her cheek to make her open her eyes "you're in the Arrow Lair now"

Felicity sat bolt upright and squealed "COOPER!" in her panic she started to talk very fast "Oliver!Cooperwasthere!Hewasthereandhefoundme!Heisn'tdeadandheisafterme!"

"Felicity shhhh" Oliver held her cold hand in his warm one, odd since his were usually cold "what's going on?"

Felicity took a few deep breaths "Oliver, Cooper was there! Cooper is alive and he wants me for something!" she explained "He sprayed something on my face but that was after he kissed me" Felicity said awkwardly looking away from Oliver who was trying to keep his face neutral.

Cooper Sheldon was back, he had tried to take her from Oliver before and he wasn't going to let it happen again "he sprayed something on your face? Did you inhale anything?" he quickly went over to the med table and got a swab stick and gently touched her face with it, then got another one and swabbed her mouth "If there is anything in your system we'll find it and make you better again"

"But I feel fine Oliver!" Felicity started to protest before her vision started to waver and her head started to spin "…Oliver?...what?" she felt confused and disorientated until she finally lost conscious again with the rest of team Arrow trying to wake her up and analyse what was in her system. 

* * *

**A/N: Cooper is back?! I always liked his as a villain. What are his plans for Felicity? How will he persuade her to work for/with him? How will this effect team Arrow and most of all Oliver?**

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	2. Begin to Forget

Cooper was sure the serum he used on Felicity would begin to work now. It had been three days since he had seen Felicity, she should be feeling it's effects by now – confusion, dizziness and her brain would experience some slight memory loss and memory rearrangement; she would begin to think she was back in college and back together with him before his 'accident' in prison.

He had been working on it ever since Felicity had disarmed him with The Arrow. Well, now Cooper was going to get her back and together they would do what they set out to do in the beginning; use her super virus and then disappear together forever.

* * *

Despite his best wishes, Felicity was back in the office the next day and fulfilling her duties as Oliver's EA. Felicity still felt a little jumpy after last night, Oliver urged her to stay home as they still hadn't found out what the substance Cooper had sprayed in her face was, Felicity told Oliver over and over again that she was fine. The last thing Felicity wanted was to appear weak if Cooper was watching her. Oliver had Diggle come up and check on Felicity regularly throughout the day and insisted they go to lunch together "you know how that will look to everyone!" Felicity had argued

"Let them look, let them speculate, as long as you're safe I don't care what people are saying" Oliver and said in return as they ate in the cafeteria; Oliver refused to leave the building.

Oliver was now writing his signature over and over again on various papers all the while looking at Felicity; she was acting strange despite her attempts to hide it. Every now and then she would pause momentarily and stare off into the distance as though she were confused about something, then decide it was nothing before getting back to her work.

Oliver was trying to focus, trying to care about meetings as Felicity sat beside him and was hurriedly taking notes – he could always count on her to keep him up to speed; but this Cooper business had him all up in knots. Was he watching her? Did he have eyes on her everywhere she went? What did he want with her? Thinking back to seeing Cooper with a gun pointed at his Felicity made his blood boil. He vowed that Cooper would pay for hurting her twice now.

"…Miss Smoak, I really don't think that tiny little hearts were part of this meeting, do you?"

A man's voice disrupted Oliver's thoughts as he was confronted with the man in control of the meeting standing over Felicity with her notepad in his hand. Indeed there were tiny hearts and the makings of a skull drawing in the corner. Felicity wore a look of confusion and annoyance as she tried to take her notepad pack "Dude, chill!" she snatched the pad back and turned in her chair away from him.

 _Had she really just told that guy to chill?_

"Miss Smoak, would you care to explain these…these…drawings and how they fit in with what I'm saying?" the man waited impatiently for Felicity to respond and was surprised when she stood up and made him take a step back

It was like Felicity had become a whole other person in the last second, her eyes became dark and her body language spoke of someone who was pushed to the end of their patience and her voice was no better "Would you care to explain how whenever you're talking, all I hear is 'blah blah blah'! I had to doodle to keep from falling asleep!"

"Felicity!" Oliver sprang up between her and the business associate and pulled Felicity toward the door "excuse us gentlemen!" he said as Felicity was guided out the door and out of earshot "Felicity, are you okay?" he was shocked that Felicity had said those things and the look in her eyes scared him "what's going on?"

Now that Felicity was looking at him, the darkness had gone out of her eyes and her shoulders visibly dropped from tension finally being released and she was looking at Oliver like he asked her to choose between her computers and her tablet "What do you mean?" she asked innocently

"Wh-wh-what do I mean? Your attitude in there! You were out of line!" Oliver was concerned when Felicity started to come back to herself and looked genuinely shocked and confused, he knew this was a symptom of Cooper's spray "Felicity" Oliver said gently "I think you should go home, we'll talk later tonight but you shouldn't be here. I'll get Diggle to take you home"

As Oliver called Diggle and apologized over and over again to the entire meeting, Felicity sat down in her own chair in her office and tried to calm down. What had just happened? Felicity remembered nothing of the last few minutes except feeling angry and board because the man would NOT stop talking and she had better things to do – like surf the web looking for criminal to deface, governments to expose for fraud and study for her finals in a few weeks – "Wait, what?" _study for finals_? Where had that come from?

* * *

When Diggle came to take Felicity home, she was in the middle of apologizing to the man she yelled at "I'm really sorry! I've just been under a lot of stress lately!" she tried to explain

"I surely hope so, Miss Smoak!"

Oliver quickly led Felicity away from the office and to the elevator where Diggle was waiting "Take Felicity home please" he said softly "I have to do damage control in there"

"Everything alright?" Diggle asked

"Just an episode…thing. I don't know" Felicity rubbed her temples, she had a giant headache "I think I just need to sleep and I'll be fine" she sighed heavily and felt really drained; she was also annoyed that she hadn't gotten her usual call this afternoon from Cooper. Cooper always called her to check up on her.

Felicity shook her head to clear it as Diggle led her to the car, Cooper was gone and he wasn't going to call her AND she didn't need to study for her finals! This was getting scary. Felicity made a mental note to check on Coopers whereabouts to give herself a piece of mind.

* * *

 **LATER THAT NIGHT…**

Oliver was finally done with the last of the paper work and calming down the man Felicity decided to yell at. Even though it had been hours since Felicity went home Oliver was still worried about her. It was like she was a whole other person, her attitude changed and her eyes…they weren't her usual happy bright eyes. These were the eyes of someone up to no good, someone confused and hurting.

Was Felicity secretly hurting? She had seen her ex-boyfriend that she thought was dead and as she had said that night 'old lovers have a way of opening old wounds'. What wounds and Cooper opened?

Deciding that he couldn't take any more of the office, Oliver left and went to the lift. He was going to check on Felicity. As he pushed the Ground Level button, Oliver's phone started to ring "Hey Dig, I'm just leaving to check on Felicity" he said into the phone

"You won't need to check on her, man" Dig sounded as if he was in pain "Felicity's not here"

"What?!"

"Felicity was taken! Well, not exactly taken…she went willingly!"

Oliver couldn't get to his car fast enough and broke all the speeding laws to get to Felicity's house but when he got there Felicity was indeed gone.

 **EARLIER THAT NIGHT…**

Felicity was feeling weird after Diggle left, she was actually feeling weird throughout the whole car ride home. She was confused about the route they were taking and would constantly ask Diggle if this was the right way or even where they were going by the end.  
Diggle had offered to stay but Felicity put it all down to stress and working such late nights in the lair. Felicity told him that she was once again fine, even though she was having trouble remembering his name as he was leaving and simply said "Bye! See you later" and watched as he drove away.

Felicity searched her house and food and all she could find was microwave meals, popped one in and while it was cooking Felicity went to explore her house.  
It was large enough for one yet had a spare bedroom for guests, there were pictures that provided little information – one was of her with that ridiculers blonde hair of hers next to a younger woman with short brown hair in a red leather costume making goofy faces at the camera. Another picture was of her with a woman all in black leather as they tried to make sexy faces whilst doing piece signs.

Felicity had no idea who these women were.

A wave of panic hit Felicity as she saw a reflection of someone behind her in the photo and turned to see Cooper and her face lit up "BABE!" She jumped into his arms and kissed him quickly

"Felicity, are you alright?" Cooper asked concerned looking at her with wild eyes

"Wah…I thought you died…I got a call from the police station! What is going on?" She asked frantically

"I'll explain everything later but right now we have to get out of here!" Right as Cooper said that a man burst through the door aiming a gun at Cooper "Felicity, run!" Cooper put himself between her and the attacker "they're after you!"

"Who?" Felicity felt fear take hold as she backed away

"The Arrow and his gang! They're here and they want to hurt you! I can hold them off but you have to run now!" Cooper leapt at the man and they struggled on the ground, Cooper yelled at her to run but the man was telling her to stay and hide and that he was this guy called Dig.  
That name didn't mean anything to her so she decided to trust her boyfriend and ran out the door while they struggled.

A gunshot rang through the night and Felicity hid behind some bushes as Cooper came staggering out holding his side "Cooper!" she cried as she ran to his side

"No time for that, let's go. I know somewhere safe" Cooper led Felicity to a car and together they sped off into the night. Felicity looked back at the man calling himself her friend and only felt fear and confusion but Cooper was here and he would keep her safe.

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	3. A New Darkness

Cooper drove for what felt like hours, there were no street lights on this road but he knew there were fences along the road on both sides and at the end, was their safe house. Cooper had bought it while he was working with the NSA, he planned to bring Felicity here when it was safe to contact her again. Now, he was bringing her here under less-than-ideal circumstances but it was these circumstances that will help them be together; Cooper just had to eliminate certain people from her life and replace it with all 100% Cooper and Felicity.

As they pulled up to the little house, Felicity stirred and opened her eyes and smiled lazily at Cooper who smiled back and stroked her cheek "We're here, Babe" he said and unbuckled his seat belt and got out.

Felicity followed Cooper up to the house "Where is 'here' Coop?" she asked hesitantly, fear all over her face "and who was that guy after me? And what…what year is it if I don't have to study for my finals?"

"Babe, it'll be alright. I'm here to take care of you" he stroked her hair before they went inside, Felicity noticed a look of slight disgust when he took his hand away from her gold strands and vowed to go to the drugstore and dye her hair as soon as she could.  
Inside the small house was warm and had an antique feel, with soft white wall paper with tiny flowers on it all the way up to the ceiling. Exposed beams of the roof made Felicity feel like she had to duck her head even though she was in no danger of hitting them. Felicity thought that if the circumstances were better, maybe her and Cooper could have had a place like this one day after college.

"I…I don't have anything to change into" Felicity said meekly as she looked down at her smart but simple dress shirt and grey skirt complete with what looked like panda flats – any other woman might have called them 'super cute' but they made her stomach roll. She missed her black boots.

Cooper seemed to notice this too and hugged her "We'll go shopping tomorrow" he kissed her soothingly "you'll be back to your old self again in no time" the kiss turned heated which Felicity was only too eager to give in to "but first…" his hands worked the buttons of her shirt, he kissed along her cheek and jawline "…we should get you out of those clothes and…" as Cooper was kissing her, he thought about her hair and how some of the loose strands were caught up in the shirt. Those loose strands might lead The Arrow to them and then where would they be? Cooper took off her shirt and threw it away disguising the act as one of passion "…let's burn them! Tonight! You'll be like a phoenix rising from the ashes! Together we can be whatever we want to be"

Felicity was so swept up in him that she didn't object to being undressed, Cooper kissing her and lead her over to the bed and then covering her body with kisses from head to toe. A small moan escaped her lips as Cooper began to nibble their way down her stomach, Felicity arched her back totally 100% inviting him in and to take her mind off of her headache.  
Cooper was only too happy to drape her legs over his shoulders as he set to work pleasing her with his lips and tongue.

Felicity tried to enjoy what Cooper was doing but her head was pounding, a white hot pain erupted from the back of her mind until it seemed it was right behind her eyes, Felicity screwed her eyes shut as Cooper worked his tongue but the pain broke through causing her to cry out and images and words to flow: 

_She was happy she was finally getting off work. When she tried to back her car out of the lot she heard something in the back seat; there was a man in green leather in the back…"I'm not going to hurt you, Felicity"_

"S-S-STOP!" Felicity jerked her eyes open and sat up and away from Cooper on the bed, bringing her knees up to her chin she began to shake "stop" she said again

"What's wrong? You okay?" Cooper asked with his voice full of concern, one look into her eyes told him that she was scared and he knew why. His new serum was only in its trial stages and had yet to be completed. Felicity's memories were fighting with each other, her past and present were at war to be at the front of her mind. Cooper knew he had to help her remember the 'right' memories and feelings in order for this to work. Getting the Arrow and the rest of her friends out of her mind would prove to be difficult but he would find a way.

"I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to pounce on you this soon, we have our whole lives together" Cooper kissed her softly as he held her "everything will be alright"

Felicity sunk into his touch as she asked over and over again what was happening to her and who the man in green leather was "who is he, Coop?"

"No one important" Cooper smiled and promised again that they would fix her hair and buy her all new clothes tomorrow.

Felicity couldn't help but think he was very important, as was the blonde woman in black leather and the young man in red hoodie. Something told her they were very important. Something told her not to forget them. 

_The man in green leather appeared to her again in her dreams "you will always be my girl, Felicity"_

* * *

They had been shopping for hours and still only had three colours in her new wardrobe – black, dark grey and a little tiny bit of purple – and Cooper loved it all the more. With every outfit she tried on and bought, he felt closer and closer to getting his old Felicity back; she was slowly returning to him. When they walked out of the last store, exhausted yet happy, Felicity yet again found herself looking at her reflection in a shop window. Her makeup was dark but her hair was brighter than the sun "Still have to fix my hair" she grumbled

"Then let's find a drugstore and fix it together" Cooper gave her a reassuring smile

Together they picked out a shade of black she liked, paid for it and found a Big Belly Burger to eat lunch. Felicity felt anxious all day, found herself looking over her shoulder for the man in green, yet with every new shirt or skirt she bought, he became a faint glimmer in her mind. Maybe he wasn't that important after all.  
If these feelings and thoughts went away when she put on her old – new – style of clothes then there was one last thing she had to do before she could get on with her life.

"I have to do it now!" Felicity cried a little too loudly "I have to change it now!"

"Your hair? Can't you wait until we get home?"

Felicity rushed to the bathroom with the box of hair dye and read the instructions again and again, she didn't know why since she had done this before, but something was telling her to stop and to not go through with this.  
Felicity opened the box and took everything out right there in the sink; she didn't care if anyone saw her she HAD to get this done!

 _"If you ever need to tell someone about your day…you can tell me"_

That man's voice sounded so caring and soft and nothing like Cooper at all. He seemed like someone she could be safe with. Felicity felt the pain again and more images of the man in green – The Arrow – appeared in her mind, Cooper had said that she worked with him once before when he tried to save her again with her own virus. The Arrow had used her to try and forget about Cooper, manipulated her until he got what he wanted then threw her aside. Cooper had promised not to do that or leave her again.

"I'll never leave you either" Felicity promised Cooper as she began to dye her hair. With each new strand of black hair Felicity felt her old self returning and The Arrow getting further and further away from her mind "I'm here Cooper, I'll never leave you again" she said to her reflection and left the bathroom uncaring of the mess she had made in there at all.  
Felicity's hair was now jet black and wet from washing it in the sink, her lipstick was a dark purple and her eyeliner was dark and smudged around her eyes making them appear smaller, the rest of her makeup was plain and simple to accentuate the darkness.

Felicity confidently walked over to Cooper and sat beside him "Did you miss me?" she asked coyly

"You have no idea how much" Cooper pressed his lips to hers in what he hoped would turn out to be a kiss that would lead to more later but they were interrupted by a red hoodie

"Felicity?" a voice asked uncertainly, Felicity turned to the voice and now faced a young man, he was handsome with a short brown hair cut, a sharp jawline, he wore jeans and a dark shirt and to cover it all up he wore a worn out red hoodie "is that really you?"

Felicity just stared at him wide-eyed, she had no idea where she had seen him before but she _knew_ she knew him from somewhere "Can I help you?" she asked puzzled as to why this young man would be speaking to her with such familiarity "do I know you?"

"Yes, don't you remember me? I work with Thea" Red Hoodie tried to jog her memory "remember?"

"Who's Thea?" Felicity was really confused now and her head began to hurt again, Cooper saw her confusion and quickly guided her from her seat and made their way toward the door when the guy took hold of Felicity's wrist

"Felicity, are you okay?"

"Let go of me!" Felicity smacked his hand away and shrunk her body into Coopers

"Bro, I think you've got the wrong girl and don't ever touch mine again" Cooper pushed the young man away who fell to the ground not anticipating the attack "if you come near us again, I'll kill you!"

Felicity was led away out of Big Belly Burger, she was confused but knew that Cooper would be there to protect her.

Inside, the young man was helped to his feet by his girlfriend "Roy! Are you okay?" she asked frantically

"Yeah, babe. I'm fine" _but Felicity is in serious danger_ he knew he had to get in touch with Oliver right away.

 **A/N: Dark Felicity is back! This is getting good now! I didn't want Oliver to be the first to see Felicity like this, I thoght Roy and Thea might be better. I like Roy. As always read and review! HOW will Oliver get Felicity to remember him? Is the solution in the stories title or will he find other measures?**


	4. Memories Slipping Away

PMH4

 **A/N: I know that in past chapters I have hinted that Cooper is working with/for someone. I have decided to have it so that he works alone in this story. Sorry for any confusion.**

Oliver swung low at Roy's legs, just when the younger man was about to jump to avoid a fall, Oliver swung with his other hand to meet Roy's jaw and looked overly menacing as he watched him go down. They had been sparring – although it seemed to Roy that Oliver was punishing him – for the last half an hour; until Roy decided that now he had had enough.  
Roy went to the med bay table and picked up a bottle of water and a towel for himself, ignoring Oliver's outstretched hand for his own towel "I'm not doing this anymore"

"You need to work on your speed some more" Oliver growled

Roy slammed his water bottle down and glared at his mentor "I said that there was nothing I could do! I couldn't _really_ talk to her about all this in public and with Thea there! Don't worry we'll find her again, she was at the local Big Belly Burger so she can't be staying that far away" Roy said hopefully but then grimaced "and I'm not sparring with you until we find her"

Oliver was seething. When Roy had come to him after seeing Felicity in person since she was taken, he had wanted to put on his Arrow suit and find her straight away; but it had been daylight and he had had plans with Thea after work that day. Roy had said that she looked different – had changed her hair to black and wore dark makeup – he refused to believe that she was totally gone.  
As Oliver reached for his own bottle of water, he thought back to when Felicity really impressed him with her strength: 

_Cooper had her in his arms with a gun pointed to her head. Oliver had an arrow pointed at them but he for once wasn't needed. Felicity elbowed him in the stomach and then hit Cooper with his own gun before throwing it away._

He smiled at the memory as he recalled how scared Felicity was yet she didn't let it get in her way of protecting herself and her own mother. Oliver was never more proud of her than he was in that moment; now she was lost and he had no idea where to start looking.  
Felicity had been taken by her ex and Oliver hated to think what she was going through, he knew the mind could be harsher than reality but he couldn't help but let his mind wonder.

A small memory came to mind as Oliver took a drink

 _Even though he couldn't see Felicity inside the building he knew that she was nervous. It was evident in her voice as she rambled "how can you call yourself a casino without any lucky sevens?" she had asked through the ear piece she wore. Oliver reminded her that she needed to be focused; and not make him laugh in the process.  
Felicity's mindset was even more awkward when a sexual innuendo slipped out "it feels really good having you inside me…and by you I mean your voice…and by me I mean my ear!" Oliver had fought not to chuckle._

Oliver went over the small amount of information they had managed to find on Cooper and on Felicity's own virus that he had used against her but Felicity was very good back then at covering her tracks. Team Arrow usually came up with nothing on Felicity's whereabouts.

"Anyone want some lunch? Big Belly…?" Roy asked Diggle and Laurel before shooting Oliver a sorry look "Oliver, I…I'm sorry I didn't mean to mention…"

A thought was forming in Oliver's mind…if Felicity had been to Big Belly Burger, and it being the only local one, she and Cooper might return, they could recapture her and save her. Oliver told the others his plan, asked Laurel and Diggle to stake out their Big Belly Burger this afternoon and he and Roy would take the night shift.

It wasn't much of a plan but it was something. Felicity had often bought them all food at night, sometimes chastising herself for not learning to cook proper meals, so Big Belly Burger was the way to go right now.

* * *

Cooper was busy in the kitchen of their small house. His brow was crinkled with concentration, sweat beaded on his forehead as he held the small tweezers that held a small capsule. Cooper had finally been able to work the memory serum enough to be able to put it inside such a small pill, it was getting difficult to keep spraying it, he could only do it when Felicity was sleeping and nine times out of ten she would always wake up after from some dream. The Arrow.

Every night her powerful memories of that man plagued Cooper. Sure, Felicity was remembering more and more of their lives together and acting like her real old self again, but The Arrow was still there. Felicity's old memories kept coming back in the form of sharp flashes which caused painful headaches for her. Over and over again Felicity would dream or remember The Arrow and Cooper wanted a stop to her memories and pain.

Whimpering from the bedroom made Cooper stop what he was doing "Babe? You okay?" Cooper went to her and found her curled up on the bed holding her head.

Felicity had had a memory flash again this one looked like it was painful:

 _"…I think she can take the night off. Don't you?" whoever the Russian woman was she was beautiful, a man stood behind her looking like a husband caught cheating. He tried to talk to her but she walked away saying that "it makes no sense whatsoever" she said sadly._

 _"…Because of the life that I lead…I just think it's better to not be with someone I could really care about"_

 _"I think you deserve better than her"_

Felicity was holding her head so hard to stop the pain but nothing would help. Who was that man? And that woman? Were they real? The emotions she felt then had certainly felt real 'I think you deserve better than her'…had she meant herself? No, she didn't even look like herself. It wasn't real.

"Coop, I'm scared! Who are these people!? Why am I remembering them?" Felicity cried

"Remember what I told you? They brainwashed you to use you. Especially whoever that guy was and The Arrow" Cooper stroked her back softly "when we get your virus up and running, we can stop them from hunting us and then disappear together"

Felicity felt her stomach grumble "Can we go get some food? Maybe my stomach will feel better if I eat something"

Cooper reached for his phone and began to dial "I'll order something in" but Felicity sat up despite her heavy head

"No, can we please go somewhere? I want to go out. Just to Big Belly Burger or something"

"It's not safe out there, The Arrow and his team will be looking for us since I rescued you" Cooper kissed her cheek tenderly and gave her a hug "I guess we can go out, but we have to cover ourselves and that means a hat and some sunglasses maybe a scarf and baggy clothing" Cooper smiled at Felicity "even though you have changed your hair and stuff, The Arrow will still recognize you"

"Really?" Felicity asked questioningly "but I look so different"

"If I were The Arrow, even a change of hair and clothes would never make me forget you"

* * *

Roy and Oliver had set up watch posts on opposite buildings to Big Belly Burger. They had waited here for 2 hours only moving to stretch their limbs to keep from cramping up.

Every shadow had Oliver on edge, every blonde woman caught his eye and foolishly made him hope it was his Felicity; even though Roy said she had changed her hair and looked 100% different now. While they waited, Oliver couldn't help but think back to several times when Felicity had made his life that much lighter and slightly happier – like the first time they had ever met.

Chewing on that red pen and her babble made her look so human and cute that Oliver actually smiled for the first time since coming back. He always wanted to be around her so she could bring that out in him again.

"Look down there!" Roy's voice brought him out of his thoughts and they looked down across the street, sure enough they saw Cooper and Felicity. They had tried in vain the cover themselves up but their ridicules attempt at concealing their identity had only made them stand out more. Oliver saw that her hair was different, an inky black with a purple streak, her makeup went from cheerful to dark and her clothes did nothing for her figure at all.

Felicity could get plastic surgery and he would still know her anywhere by her smile, her laugh and her gait as she walked; like she was always walking a little too fast and would slow down every few steps so that whomever was walking with her could keep up.

Roy and Oliver watched them walk into Big Belly Burger and wanted nothing more than to race down there and take her back from Cooper.

Felicity and Cooper ordered their food and sat down in a booth "can I take my scarf and jumper off now? I'm burning up in here"

Cooper thought about it and finally said yes but to keep the sunglasses on and to eat fast. Felicity hated being rushed when eating but knew it was dangerous out here for her.

 _"Is this really how you guys figure out how to get the bad guys? Over burgers and shakes?"_

Another memory

 _"I have a plan. You're crush object with the badge – why don't I whip up a little tech, you distract her with a little flirty flirt, slip said tech onto her phone and boom! We'll learn everything she knows!"_

 _"It's not how I typically get my information" the man thought about her plan_

 _"How do you typically do it?"_

 _"I find the person and then I put the fear if god into them until they talk"_

That last memory sounded scary, almost like the man meant to do it to her one day and she became scared all of a sudden and her headache wasn't much better "Can we go now Babe?"

"Sure, let's go"

The streets were pretty much empty at this time of night as they walked. Cooper had his arm around Felicity protectively and would constantly scan their surroundings as if he were paranoid; and he had every right to be. The Arrow and Arsenal were following them ever since they exited the restaurant.

Oliver and Roy followed them to a park located near some nature walk trails, Oliver knew that if they were spotted he and Roy could track them through the trees but he wanted to avoid scaring Felicity. Oliver gave Roy a signal to circle around while Oliver stayed behind to follow and sort of guide them with sounds that would startle them toward Roy.  
Felicity looked nervous and ready to jump at the slightest sound and they really hated having to scare her like this.

Cooper seemed to sense something and he seemed to look _right at Roy_ in his hiding spot before guiding Felicity through the park "We're being followed, act as natural as you can and when I say so head toward the play equipment and hide in the slide or tunnel"

Felicity could only nod because she was so scared. Was it The Arrow? Was he going to try and take her back? Would Cooper be enough to protect her? "NOW!" Cooper's voice roared in her hear and she didn't waste any time running for cover as The Arrow and his team mate burst from the trees

"Cooper Sheldon! You have taken something from me and I want her back!" The Arrow snarled through his voice changer

"She's not yours anymore! I'd rather die than send her back to you!" Cooper held his head high and confidently

The Arrow held his bow and aimed an arrow at his chest "that can be arranged!" with a silent nod from Oliver, Roy went towards the play equipment in search for Felicity.

Felicity kept herself as small as possible as she struggled up the slide to hide in the tunnel from the red archer following her. It was done in vain however as she felt a gloved hand grip her ankle and pull her out "We're not here to hurt you, Felicity" the red archer tried to sound gentle

"Leave me alone! Just leave me alone!" Felicity cried as she struggled to get to her feet and ran, the red archer held her in his arms and she screamed again "LET GO OF ME! COOPER! COOPER HELP!" Felicity managed to get her leg free and kicked him hard in the shin and it was enough that he let her go.

Felicity headed for the trees and the tiny river and wasn't surprised when Arsenal followed her into the water "Felicity! Please wait! I'm a friend!" he reached for her and managed to topple them into the cold water which thankfully wasn't running to fast

Felicity was coughing and crying while trying to get away, with her clothes now all wet she felt like she would freeze "get the hell away from me! Cooper! Where are you!?" finally reaching her the bank, Felicity broke into a desperate run.

Cooper could hear Felicity calling for him but The Arrow wasn't going to let him go that easily "Give Felicity back to me and I won't hurt you"

"Even if she goes back to you, her memories are all screwed up! She only remembers me now and her old life! Her true life with me!"

" _COOPER!_ " Felicity's scream brought both of their attention toward the trees followed by Arsenals frantic and desperate pleas.

Felicity had come to a small cliff side where the river ran down and formed a small pool before rushing off to what could have been the ocean. She was breathing heavily and took off her coat and gasped as the cold wind licked at her pale skin. Arsenal was still following her and trying to get her to calm down and told her that they were friends "Real friends don't try to hurt you!" Felicity shot back

"He is brainwashing you!" Arsenal begged

"I know what The Arrow did to me! Cooper told me everything! Well, you're not going to hurt me again!" Felicity turned away toward the pool and was ready to jump "COOPER!" if this was going to be her last word she was happy it was of the one she loved. Then Felicity closed her eyes and jumped.

"NO! FELICITY NO! NO!" Roy ran to the edge and watched as she went over into the cold rushing water. Oliver was now certainly going to kill him after this.

 **A/N: I really enjoyed this chapter, it made me feel better as I am sick with flu right now. I'll update when I can. Enjoy and if you have any questions or statements feel free to leave a review!**


	5. Brainwashed

**A/N: First of all - I am doing much better now: my cold/flu is gone!**

 **Secondly - I really do apologise how LONG this chapter took to put together and how SMALL it is. I, myself, love nice long chapters in my stories that grab my readers and doesn't let them go. I am truly sorry for the length of this chapter. I have news to cover it though.**

 **Thirdly - During the planning stages of this story, there was another character in it that I thought wouldn't make it into the story - so I decided to give her her own story! Yes, I am writing two stories at once. I am still in the planning stages of that story but I can give you all a little taste here:  
Felicity has a younger HALF sister (same mother different fathers). Lucy is 19 and a budding artist living in Central City.  
Lucy is a meta human and her art is a clue to her powers and how she'll use them.  
Lucy makes pocket money by selling some of her art on the street and even doing self portraits for people. One of thsoe people is Leonard Snart.  
Leonard finds out about her powers and wants to use it to steal things. He sways her by finding out she has a crush on him. One job and that's it.  
Other criminals find out about her powers and she seeks help from Felicity in Starling City, The Arrow and maybe even The Flash.**

 **It is still in the planning stages so some parts may change. I wanted it to be another Olicity story but the whole Leonard Snart character just makes me curious. I wanted to expand on him and show that he just might have a softer side. May be some Olicity but will be mostly Captain Cold/OC.**

 **Fourthly - Yet another reason WHY things are going a lot slower than usual is a little more serious. Recently, I have been going to a lot of appointments i.e physiotherapy, normal therapy and other women-related things because I have come to know that I have a type of disorder that effects a part of my life physically. I have only started on the road to recovery but I know it'll be a long and exhausting one (mentally, physically and emotionally). Please bare with me on updates as writing is one of the things that is helping me through all the painful physio and other things going on. I am writing for myself but also for all of you. Just know that even though I may not update as often as I/you want, I am recovering to the best of my ability and will write when I have spare time (hopefully every day and uploading once every 2-3 weeks).**

 **Please keep reading along and your kinds words help me a lot - even if it's just "great story - keep going!" that'll let me know that you are behind me in this and in your own way, helping me get better.**

 **Love you all xxx  
A**

* * *

The Arrow still held his arrow pointed at Cooper's heart when he heard Arsenal shout out Felicity's name. Every fibre of his being was telling him to go to Felicity and to see if she was alright but Cooper was his target and he finally had him.

Cooper looked toward the direction of the scream with a concerned look on his face "If Felicity is dead what're you going to do to me?" he asked "if she's dead you'll just kill me and I'll still win, I'll still end up with her!"

The Arrow knew he had to keep Cooper here but Felicity might need him and she was one of the most important things to him "I'm not going to kill you" he smirked before pointing his arrow down and letting it fly, watching it land in his thigh with a satisfying squelching noise and scream from Cooper "I'll be back for you" he vowed before running off to Arsenal.

When he was far enough away, Oliver called out to Roy "Where is she?" another arrow already in his bow

"I…uhh" The poor young archer could only point with a sorry look on his face down at the rushing water

Oliver quickly assessed the situation before jumping into the water after Felicity, even though she was further down the river than him, Oliver was intentionally swimming the way the water was taking him and knew that he would find her sooner this way. Oliver didn't even think about the cold water seeping into his leather suit and boots, his eyes were busy scanning the water for signs that Felicity was alive and possibly washed up on shore.  
Oliver kept swimming and through the coms ordered Roy to follow on foot in case he needed assistance.

* * *

Felicity coughed and spluttered as she pulled herself out of the water, The Arrow and his red friend were surely following her but she knew she had to get back to Cooper. Where was he? Where was _she_ for that matter? "Cooper?!" Felicity coughed as she forced herself to stand, her waterlogged clothes weighed her down heavily. She lay down on the bank for a minute to catch her breath and as soon as she did she groaned as another headache and memory surfaced:

 _A man stood before her looking pained and full of sorrow. He was dressed for a funeral but had not gone to it. Felicity wanted to cry for him when he said the words "This ends when he kills me" those words nearly killed her when they left his lips_

"I don't accept that" she said softly "you shouldn't either" Felicity boldly stepped forward into his personal space as her voice rose ever so slightly "you can't just accept things, Oliver! If I had accepted my life I would be a cocktail waitress in Vegas like my mother and I never would have gone to college, I never would have worked at Queen Consolidated where I would meet a guy in a green hood who would tell me that I can be more, do more with my life" her voice was in danger of cracking as she spoke, her eyes filled with tears but she kept them from falling, not wanting him to see just how much she was hurting "please don't do this!" she begged

The man,

Oliver she remembered, _looked down at her with a pain equal to hers "Felicity, someone once told me that the essence of heroism is to die so others can live" he stepped passed her to leave but Felicity turned to him, one lone tear fell from her eye now that his back was to her_

"There has to be another way!"

Oliver faced her again and looked into her eyes for a long minute and she could have sworn his eyes darted to her lips for half a second before returning their gaze to her own "There isn't"

Felicity pulled her wet hair out of her face and then screamed as a dry hand covered her mouth effectively stopping her scream "It's me" Felicity sank against Cooper's body in relief

"Cooper!" Felicity hugged him tightly "The Arrow…I had another memory but this time it wasn't about The Arrow it was –"

"I'd love to hear about it but right now we have to go!" Cooper was limping badly as they tried to run/jog away from the water.

* * *

Oliver saw both Felicity and Cooper running away and knew that he couldn't get to them in time, they were too far away, and called Roy over the coms to come meet him at the bank.

"Did you find her?" Roy asked then wanted to hit himself because the answer was right in front of him "right, sorry" he apologized quickly

"Let's call Digg and Laurel, I know I gave them the night off tonight but we need them" Oliver go out of the water slowly, the image of Felicity with her dark hair and makeup walking timidly with Cooper gave him chills. Felicity had always walked with such confidence and grace, a smile either half on her face or would appear when she saw someone she knew in passing, her clothes reflected the cheerfulness inside her heart. That was all gone now. Now, Felicity looked at Oliver with fear and confusion and almost hate, what was Cooper telling her? How would he even begin to get her back?

With what Roy told Oliver, Cooper was brainwashing Felicity and bringing out the darkness that had lay dormant inside her, before she met Oliver and moved to Star City. Oliver had to break through it and make her see him again. If she wanted to see it again.


End file.
